


we hide among the tidepools

by amaresu



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Defrosting The Fridge, Episode: s02e03 Alienated, Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-22
Updated: 2012-05-22
Packaged: 2017-11-05 19:59:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/410424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amaresu/pseuds/amaresu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dick has an important visit to make after seeing Kaldur.</p>
            </blockquote>





	we hide among the tidepools

He waits two weeks before going to see her. He's just grateful it's been long enough since he last visited Wally and Artemis that he can get away with going that soon. He Zetas to Palo Alto Friday afternoon and hangs out with Wally until they go to meet Artemis for dinner. He's paying so he makes sure they go to a nicer place than either of them can usually afford. They stay up late that night talking on the roof of the apartment building and go to sleep as the sun rises. Business as usual. 

Saturday is spent at the park playing Frisbee golf and eating food from cart vendors. It's good and relaxing, but it's no surprise to anyone when he slips out the window later that evening. Artemis rolls her eyes and Wally tells him to be safe. They both think he gets antsy when he can't patrol for more than one day, which is the way he likes it. Instead he makes his way to the train yard, stopping one burglary for appearances sake, before riding the trains far outside Palo Alto. 

It takes a couple of hours, but eventually he can jump off at a small town in the middle of nowhere. He slips silently through the town until he reaches a small house towards the middle of town. He still doesn't like her being in the middle of town, it makes escape routes hard to plan and keep safe, but she'd argued that being at the edge made it easier for people to sneak up on her as well as making her stand out. They were both right of course, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

He's barely in through the window when a knife appears at his throat, “Dick?”

“Red Rover, Red Rover, send Tula on over,” it's an old joke, but it still makes her laugh as she quickly pulls the knife away while he pulls off his mask and then they wrap each other in hugs. They stumble to the couch and he whispers as they sit down, “I saw him.”

She freezes briefly before pulling him to lay down next to her, “Tell me.”

He does. It's hard, contact with Kaldur hasn't been possible for the most part and it was difficult seeing him in action. “It was so close. We barely made it out and the Kroleteans didn't. Superman tried to save them-”

She places her hand over his mouth and leans her forehead against his, “We knew what this would require when Kaldur'ahm came up with the plan. You weren't able to talk to him alone.”

It's not a question, but he still shakes his head and she removes her hand, “Conner caught up with us too quickly and it probably wasn't safe regardless. He looked so different. He had to attack King Orin and La'gaan.”

“But he did not injure either of them badly. He's still our Kaldur,” Tula says before kissing him gently. 

It's true, it has to be, because he can't bare the thought of really losing Kaldur. They don't say anything else. Their time together was too short to do anything, even if they felt like it with Kaldur so very far away from them. All too soon he forced himself to stand and walk with Tula to the window he arrived through, “I want this to be over.”

“I miss him almost more than I can stand,” she whispers into his shoulder. 

He puts his mask back on and the kiss once more, briefly, before he climbs out the window. It's harder to catch a train going back to Palo Alto, but he manages to get back just as the sun is rising. Artemis shakes her head as he climbs in the kitchen window and pulls down another cup to pour coffee into. He'll shower and eat breakfast with his friends before heading back to Gotham. He'll laugh and smile and pretend that Tula is dead and Kaldur lost to them because what Kaldur is trying to accomplish is too important for anything else.


End file.
